Richard Vander Plaat Archives

No district has gone longer without electing a Democrat than the 40th

September 7, 2019 5:21 pmSeptember 7, 2019 5:50 pm

No legislative district in the state has gone longer without electing a Democrat than the 40th, which includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Essex counties. It’s been 54 years since a Democrat won an Assembly seat there, which makes...

Some 1960s Bergen County political history

March 3, 2019 10:22 pmMarch 4, 2019 8:59 am

Until the U.S. Supreme Court’s one-man, one-vote ruling, Bergen County began the 1960’s with one state Senator – Walter Jones (R-Norwood) — and seven Assembly seats. Jones gave up that Senate seat after eight years in 1961 to run for...

Michael Ferrara, former assemblyman, dies at 96

March 3, 2019 5:00 pm

Michael J. Ferrara, who served in the New Jersey State Assembly from 1968 to 1970, died on March 1. He was 96. Ferrara has served National UNICO president and became the Maywood borough attorney in 1955. He was the Maywood...